Tavira to Vila Real de Santo Antonio

We left Tavira on Saturday after having two lovely sunny days where we cycled around the town and out to the salt pans in the Ria Formosa It was so nice on Friday that we had take-away BBQ chicken and chips for lunch sat outside watching the world go by. We decided on Saturday afternoon to head inland for a day or two and return to Tavira if we didn’t find water en route. We drove out to the Pego do Inferno (pool of hell) which was a small waterfall and had a walk around the area. We then drove onto Santa Catarina and parked alongside a stream by a local washing area. Mark was very keen and did a load of washing and hung it out while I cooked tea. The next morning we walked alongside the stream up into the countryside and up to the top of a hill where there were just a couple of houses on the top. The views around were lovely with hills behind and in front with the sea in the distance. We could see a hill in the foreground with windmills on it, so after lunch we walked up to the windmills. The views were even better from here as we were slightly closer to the sea and slightly higher too. We now have a very good supply of oranges, lemons and tangerines as we found some abandoned orchards on our morning walk. Later on Sunday afternoon we left Santa Catarina and drove back to Tavira via Moncarapacho, we had a brief walk around Moncarapacho but didn’t really like it so continued back to Tavira. Sunday was a lovely sunny day with no rain at all, so we hope this will continue.

After filling up with water we left Tavira on Monday morning and drove a few miles along the coast to the pretty tiny hamlet of Cacela Velha. We parked up and had a wander round, this appeared to be the last part of the Ria Formosa and we can, at last, see the sea easily. We then drove on a couple of miles further to Manta Rota which is a small town. The beach at Manta Rota is huge with lovely white sand and clean clear waters There was plenty of parking behind the sand dunes, hence there were loads of motorhomes parked up! From the carpark to the beach and along the top part of the beach are plenty of boarded walkways so we got the bikes off and went for a cycle round. Having spotted an English second hand bookshop while driving into the town we go and have a look, after a good long browse I left with a couple of books. I also bought a couple from the market in Tavira a couple of days earlier so have a good supply to keep me going for a while. It was another lovely warm sunny day and shorts and t-shirt are at last becoming the norm.

We stayed in Mana Rota until Wednesday lunchtime after enjoying glorious sunny weather and lots of walks and cycle rides. We even had a bit of a jog along the beach! On Wednesday morning we walked along the beach as far as Cacela Velha and hoped to get from the beach to the hamlet across the Ria Formosa but couldn’t as there was too much water to cross. After returning to the motorhome we then drove on down the coast to Monte Gordo which is the main tourist town on the Eastern Algarve and parked up with quite a few other motorhomes behind the sand dunes. We stayed at Monte Gordon until Friday and then moved on a couple of miles to Vila Real de Santo Antonio (VRSA).

VRSA is the most south easterly town in Portugal. From our parking spot next to the port, we can see Spain across the Rio (River) Guardiana and boats in the marina close by. A small ferry runs between the port and Spain. The weather for the last few days has continued to be beautifully sunny all day long. On Saturday we went to the monthly flea market which was held in a large square in the town, I bought a couple more books. We then went out for lunch and enjoyed a large jug of Sangria. On Sunday we cycled to the point where the river meets the sea and enjoyed views right up the coast to the west and to the north we could see the bridge that crosses over to Spain.

Olhao to Tavira

We stayed in Loule until Saturday, longer than we expected, but Friday was very wet from lunchtime onwards right through the night so we decided to stay put. There wasn’t much to see in Loule but we were able to stock up on food and water and spend some time on the Internet in the library. There were quite a lot of shops in Loule, Mark bought some new walking boots and I bought a European adaptor so I’m now able to fully charge my laptop via the mains when I’m in a library (much quicker than charging it via the 12V in the motorhome). Saturday was a nice sunny day, we had a browse around the weekly market then walked up to a church up on a hill with views over part of the town and the sea in the far distance. We then had an early lunch and drove onto Sao Bras de Alportel, had a walk around for an hour or so and then drove onto Olhao and parked up in the port area with lots of other motorhomes.

During the night it was very wet and windy which kept us awake half of the night. At around 5.30am we heard a knock on the door, it was a French man alerting us to a street lamp above us which had become dislodged during the storms and was hanging by a cable. Mark moved us forward a few meters to get us out of any danger. Luckily the light hadn’t fallen off or caused any damage by the time we left Olhao by mid morning. Olhao hadn’t impressed us during a walk around the previous evening so we decided to move on to pastures new. We followed the coast road and stopped at Fuzeta which was an improvement on Olhao. We went for a couple of short walks between rain showers! Olhao and Fuzeta (and many other towns and villages both to the east and west) are on the Ria Formosa which is a protected lagoon area which came about after an earthquake in the 1700s! Although the lagoon areas are often quite nice, it makes it difficult to see the sea.

On Monday we moved on again, calling at Santa Luzia en route. Santa Luzia was a pretty little village on the Ria Formosa, it was very small though so it only took about half an hour to have a look around. We then moved on the short distance to Tavira and parked up near to the town centre with lots of other motorhomes. Luckily Monday was a nice sunny day, so we enjoyed plenty of time out and about the town. There are loads of motorhomes parked up in several different areas of Tavira, it’s a nice town with plenty to explore. Tuesday morning was overcast, we did a bit of cycling around but got rained off unfortunately, it looks like it could be rainy for quite a few days, but at least it’s still quite mild and we definitely don’t have any snow! It's now Thursday and we're still in Tavira, it's been a lovely sunny day today (at last!)